This is just a fluffly little birthday gift for furidojasutin. A little drunken Fraxus is good for the soul after all, so I hope you all enjoy it. As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^
A Night On The Cobbles
"Hey Freed," The words were more slurred than spoken. "Yer pretty."
Adoring a soft smile, Freed looked towards Laxus as he slightly stumbled down the cobbled streets of Magnolia. It was early in the morning, and the two men were returning home from the guildhall after Makarov's birthday party, an event that had begun early in the afternoon and had still not lost any momentum. It had, however, lost a lot of alcohol from the guildhall's seemingly endless supply, which explained Laxus' drunken state.
His walk was accompanied by a cautious sway, his clothes were slightly unfurled and messed, and his expressions were less restrained in what he allowed other people to see. Laxus rarely got this drunk, or drank at all, as he preferred to be in control of himself all the time. Freed was the same, but couldn't help but enjoy the state his fiancé was in.
"I'm glad you think so," Freed smiled as he spoke.
"Well I do," Laxus mumbled, taking a step towards Freed. He bumped their shoulders together, possibly without meaning to. "Don't say it enough."
Freed only chuckled in response, placing a hand on Laxus' chest to balance him when he stumbled slightly. Laxus looked directly at him and, although Freed couldn't ignore the strong smell of beer on his breath, the almost goofy smile painted across the blonde's face made Freed grin. He helped his fiancé find his balance and continued to walk towards their shared home.
Neither man saw Magnolia in this state often. In the early morning, the cobbled streets and endless canals were illuminated only by the flickering lights of the streetlamps, which were reflected off the water. It was almost silent, other than the cold breeze that ruffled through the trees and the sounds of boots against the streets. It was calming and quite beautiful, offering both men the chance to see a side of their hometown that was often hidden.
Without warning, an arm wrapped itself around Freed's shoulders and pulled him a little closer. The rune-mage smiled, deciding to let his drunken fiancé have his fun instead of fighting him. They weren't the most openly affectionate couple in public, but there could always be exceptions.
They walked without speaking for a few moments, enjoying the silent company they could give each other. Their wedding was soon approaching and, with that, came a large amount of stress and busyness as they made sure their plans were still in place. The party was a night they had designated for relaxing and having a good time, which had been achieved. Freed intended to make the most of the night, including enjoying a slightly zig-zagging walk home with his intoxicated lover.
"You fucking…" Laxus began, through frowned, seemingly having forgotten what he wanted to say. "Fucking… kicked ass tonight."
Freed chuckled at the volume at which Laxus spoke. "How so?"
"That arm wrestling torna…" Again, his words drifted off and he frowned. "Contest thing."
"I made it to the third round, Laxus," Freed chucked, side eyeing Laxus when he stumbled again. He didn't fall, having tripped over his own feet, so Freed didn't move to help him. "I hardly won."
"Did better than me," Laxus grinned, and Freed guessed it was meant to be out of pride.
The arm-wrestling tournament had been one of the ways Makarov had 'spiced up' his party. It was tournament style and, the earlier you lost, the more shots you had to take as forfeit. On the apparently random matchings, Laxus had been pitted against Elfman in his first match and had lost against him. Freed too had been defeated by Elfman, but they had gone against each other after Freed had defeated both Reedus and Natsu; his hand narrowly missed getting scorched when the dragon slayer demanded a rematch.
Freed had been made to drink three shots of whatever brew Mirajane had found, Laxus had taken nine. During the shots, Laxus had complained about his grandfather making him lose on purpose. The old man was laughing too much to deny it.
"My champion," Laxus continued. He swayed into Freed again, making both men stumble at the force of his movement.
"I didn't win, Laxus," Freed reminded, smile soft.
"Doesn't fuckin' matter," Laxus near shouted in Freed's ear, making the rune-mage wince a little. "You tried ta- ta reclaim my honour and shit by beatin' Elf."
"Reclaim your honour?" Freed chuckled. "I wasn't aware you were a chivalrous drunk."
"I ain't chiva-chivalr…" He squinted in thought. "Whatever it is you said," The blonde stumbled over his words, and his gaze was directed towards the uneven ground to make sure he didn't also stumble over the cobbles. "Read it in one of ya books. Started readin' some of 'em when you were on that mission a couple weeks ago. Don't mind do ya?"
"Of course not," Freed assured him. "Which one?"
The blonde stopped walking, making Freed do the same. The rune-mage looked at Laxus as his face scrunched up a little, obviously in thought. It was an idiosyncrasy that Laxus only fully showed when either he was drunk, or his defences were down. Although, knowing Laxus as well as he did, Freed had one day realised that Laxus could never fully hide it when he was thinking, as his forehead crunched up slightly. But seeing him show how deep in thought he was – even if it was over something as small as a book – was incredibly endearing.
Laxus didn't see that Freed was watching him, instead putting all his efforts into trying to remember what the book was called. It was good, the spine was red, it had one of those built in bookmarks made of silk, and the page numbers were at the bottom of the page and underlined a little. That was all he could remember.
"Don't know," He eventually admitted, almost pouting. "Set in the past. Loads of castles. About a knight."
"I'm sure we can find it in the morning," Freed assured him. "But right now, I think we should get home and sleep."
Laxus seemed happy enough with that, and made up the small distance that parted the two of them. Again, the blonde stood a little closer to Freed than what was normal, but the rune mage couldn't find himself annoyed by it. His drunken fiancé had slightly different boundaries than when he was sober, and the buzz of alcohol flowing through Freed made him less bothered by the occasional bump against his side that Laxus' swaying had caused.
As they walked, Freed found himself contemplating the idea of making late night walks a regular thing. It was an idea that would probably be forgotten in the morning, but there was something pleasant about walking through the empty streets in the dead of night, with nothing but the crickets to fill the silence and the clear water of the canals to guide him.
Though, he suspected the good company was what made the moment truly perfect.
Laxus, now content that his book confusion would be handled, had taken to looking upwards at the sky. The skies were cloudless, giving them both an unhindered view of the shining stars and the almost full moon. Both men lead busy lifestyles – busier now more than ever as they had to balance wedding planning with working – so moments to stop and view the stars were rare, even if they often found themselves in places opportune to do so on their missions.
In that moment, Laxus decided he wouldn't miss this opportunity. They had planned for the party to be their night away from stress, and that would continue until they got home and slept. And what was more stress free than looking at the sky?
Freed frowned slightly as Laxus suddenly turned on his heels and walked towards the canal. He quickened his pace to keep up with his fiancé, honestly unsure if something had entered the blonde's mind that would justify him walking straight into the cold water. His concern for this doubled when he saw Laxus shrug off his coat, which he had actually chosen to wear properly rather than as a makeshift cape.
"Laxus," Freed spoke with a slight about of caution. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry," Laxus dismissed, raising a hand to the air as if it would somehow remove all the worried his fiancé had. It didn't.
"Don't go into the water, Laxus," Freed said, and Laxus' head snapped towards him with a large frown, almost offended at the suggestion. That was good, at least he wouldn't end up giving himself a cold from being a drunk idiot. "What are you doing then?"
"Just wanted a few minutes before we get home, y'know."
Although not yet understanding what his fiancé meant, Freed didn't intervene as Laxus slowly moved down so that he was sitting on the cobbles, his legs overhanging the ledge of the street so that his feet were a few inches from the top of the still water. Once seemingly comfortable, he brought his coat to his lap and looked over his shoulder towards Freed with an expectant expression, clearing inviting him to join.
Freed did as silently instructed, making sure not to stand on Laxus' coat as he made his way down. The moment he shifted so that he was beside Laxus, the blonde rested against him and moved so that his head found a pillow in Freed's shoulder.
They sat silently for a few moments, now able to hear and see the ripples across the water that were caused by the wind. It sent a chill through the rune mage, and he glanced towards his fiancé to see if he had felt it too. He still didn't understand why removing his coat had been integral to them sitting down and enjoying a quiet moment together. But, as Laxus didn't seem too affected by the cold, the rune mage decided not to question it and take Laxus' hand in his own, bringing it so it rested over his thigh.
"Oh, shit," Laxus whispered, and Freed looked towards him.
He looked down to his coat and moved slightly, managing to drape the large coat over both his and Freed's shoulders. Freed smiled a little, adjusting the coat so it better covered his side, before shuffling a little closer towards Laxus. This was a nice moment, he could deal with a little chill if this was the outcome.
"I'm really excited," Laxus mumbled, almost silently. Freed looked towards him, seeing his cheeks tinged red.
"About what?" Freed asked, voice equally soft.
"The wedding," Laxus' gaze was still trained on the water, and he dipped the toe of his boot against the surface, making rippled emerge from it. "Its just like… every time I think about it, I get all… all fucking bubbly. Like, there's something in me and its just exploding every time I think about how I'm gonna be yer husband, y'know.
"Like, I ain't saying it right, but I get it. There's like a magic in me, a new kinda magic thing, and its superpowered when I think about it. Like I ate a whole fucking thunderstorm but it's an emotion, that make sense?"
"It does," Freed whispered, smiling. "I feel the same way."
He rested his head against Laxus', watching the ripples as they expanded across the water and got larger and larger. Laxus shuffled a little closer towards him, letting out a small, possibly drunken sound of appreciation. Freed smiled, shifted his head a little so he could press his lips against Laxus' crown, before looking over the long expanse of water.
Under the coat, Laxus pulled his arm from Freed's lap and wrapped it around Freed's shoulders. He turned into the rune-mage's shoulder and kissed it, a reply to the kiss he felt against his own head. He then slowly turned towards Freed, who was illuminated by the stars behind him. His slightly pale skin glowed under the moonlight, making him look beautiful. Laxus found himself wondering how he had gotten so lucky to be with the man.
"Yer amazing," He mumbled, nuzzling into Freed slightly before looking back to him. "Love ya."
"Love you too, Laxus," Freed smiled, pressing his lips to Laxus' forehead. "But we should probably get going."
"Really? Like being here," Laxus mumbled, nuzzling further into his fiancé.
"I'm sure you do. And I like being here as well," Freed patted his fiancé on the leg, trying to ignore the slight ticking sensation that occurred when Laxus' hair ran against his neck. "But I also like sharing a bed with you. And that has less chance of us getting a cold, I imagine."
Nodding slightly, Laxus unwrapped himself from around Freed's shoulder and let his coat drop from their shoulders. He brought his foot back up form over the ledge and slowly started to climb up, resorting to using Freed's shoulder to lean on as he did so. The alcohol made the action harder than it needed to be, but managing to make himself upright without falling face first into the canal was a victory in his drunken mind.
He presented a hand to Freed, who took it carefully. The rune mage found himself dragged up and straight into his fiance's chest with more force than either expected; apparently Laxus also had a lack of depth perception when drunk.
It didn't stop him from laughing though. Freed joined in a moment later.
"You're very funny, Laxus," Freed chuckled, patting the blonde on the shoulder. "But again, we really should get home. Because we both know you're going to crash out in less than an hour, and I doubt you'd enjoy waking up in the middle of an alleyway with the hangover you'll enviably end up having."
"You wouldn't carry me home?" Laxus frowned, to which Freed chuckled.
"No," Freed smirked, though they both knew that if the situation were to happen, he would get Laxus home somehow. "I think a night with a trash bag as a pillow could do your ego good."
"Hey!" Laxus practically yelled, before crossing his arms with a drunken pout. "Thought you said you were my champion?"
"I did," Freed agreed. "Hence why I'll make sure you crash on a bed, not on a pavement."
Seemingly placated by this, Laxus nodded and started to walk towards their shared home. Freed smiled a little, decided not to wait for Laxus to realise he had forgotten his coat and instead picked it up for him, and then joined his fiancé again. The blonde wrapped an arm around Freed, deciding that the body heat that he emitted was more appealing than the warmth of his coat.
Freed took a moment to appreciate the man who held him. The man who he was going to marry. The drunken fool who had now taken to humming a random tune that had entered his head, who had been less and less subtle with his adoring looks towards his fiancé as the night had progressed, who had been cheering louder for his fiancé during the arm-wrestling contents than anyone else had throughout the entire night. This was the man he was going to spend the rest of his life with, and Freed loved the very thought of it.
And soon it would be reality. Less than a quarter of the year left until he would meet his fiancé at the end of an aisle, making him his husband. So close, and Freed found himself willing the days to pass quickly so he could experience it.
But, just because he was excited for his wedding and wanted the day to come quicker than anything he'd wanted in his life, he still could enjoy the moments of romance between them that occurred before that. And a slightly cold walk to their home after getting drunk because of Makarov's match-fixing that led to a heart to heart beside a canal either man could have easily fallen into certainly was a moment of romance in Freed's mind.
"Hey Freed," Laxus slurred again, looking towards Freed with wide eyes and slightly parted lips. Freed smiled.
"Yes, Laxus?"
"Yer pretty."
A laugh leaving his lips at the repeated statement, Freed brought his fiance's head down and pressed their lips together in a chaste kiss. The smile didn't leave his lips as they started to walk again, and the rune-mage shifted a little closer to his fiancé.
This was the man he loved and would spend the rest of his life with. He wouldn't have it any other way.